Monday, August 25, 2008

While the BIG news that the traditional political networks and rags were talking about over the weekend was dominated by the Sen. Obama's choice for VP, Sen. Joe Biden, one of the interesting underlying stories is the role that digital continues to play in this election, and specifically by camp Obama. Yes, the blogosphere was all a-Twitter with conspiracy theories that Sen. Obama chose to notify both the media and consumers about his VP choice starting at 3AM on Saturday morning as a last "slap-in-the-face" response to not only NOT picking Clinton, but to her 3AM phone call adbut as the string of emails (and SMS text messages) above indicates, Obama continues to deftly harness digital in a manner that time and again successfully informs and galvanizes at the grassroots level, and provides a halo effect that hits mainstream media and the masses. This continues to be a master class in the use and power of social communications in a way that will forever change the face of American politics, and takes the Howard Dean 2004 election online initiatives to a new level. Pay attention folks - video, viral, SMS, social networking, email - these tools are all being orchestrated in a grand way, as they continue to not only keep Sen. Obama in the news cycle, but continues the two-way dialogue direct and unfiltered with consumers. The interesting story will come in November and beyond if Sen. Obama wins, and if/how he uses the very tools moving forward that will have played such a critical role in his election.